Strategic Global Investments, Inc. (STBV)

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New Forecast: U.S. MMJ and Recreational Cannabis Sales to Hit $8 Billion by 2018
Tags: cannabis sales, Factbook, marijuana business factbook, marijuana sales, medical marijuana sales
NEWUSCannabisRetailSalesProjections284
By Anne Holland
U.S. retail cannabis sales will rise more than five-fold over the next five years, from an estimated $2.2-$2.6 billion in 2014 to $7.4-8.2 billion in 2018, according to new financial data released today in the 2014 edition of the Marijuana Business Factbook.

Although the 2014 estimated sales are right in line with predictions from last year’s edition of the Factbook, the 2018 forecast has risen by roughly $2 billion. This lift is largely due to the impact of last August’s Cole Memorandum wherein the federal Department of Justice stated it would take a hands-off approach to the cannabis industry as long as companies obey local laws and state regulations and oversight are strict.

“You could call it the $2 billion memo,” remarked Chris Walsh, editor at CannaBusiness Media. (Note: CannaBusiness Media is the publisher of both the Marijuana Business Factbook and Marijuana Business Daily.)

“This total is conservative – the reality of retail sales could be larger,” Walsh continued. “Nor does it include wholesale cannabis sales, or the billions of dollars in ancillary cannabusiness revenues such as growing equipment, real estate, legal fees, testing labs, paraphernalia, etc.”